As almost any user of a personal computer or personal electronic device will have experienced first-hand, computers will occasionally fail or “lock-up” for no apparent reason. While often annoying, such failures usually do not present a serious problem for the user, who can manually terminate a failed application, force a restart their computer, or some similar action which will ordinarily address the problem.
The situation can be somewhat different with failures occurring on multi-user computer devices, typically in fixed-locations—for example, research terminals in libraries, interactive informational displays at museums or entertainment venues, gaming terminals in bars or restaurants, etc. It is often not desirable to give users the necessary access or control over such devices to let them take the same corrective actions that they would with personal devices. However, since these devices are generally located on the premises of a staffed facility, problems will ordinarily be quickly reported by users or observed by maintenance personnel, allowing corrective actions to be taken by personnel with the appropriate access.